Tallinn's new Central Market to open in 2025 at earliest

TALLINN – In the most positive scenario, the new Central Market of Tallinn will open in 2025, with a more precise timetable to be set no later than at the start of the construction of the new building, the manager of the market said on Thursday.

As an interim measure to make the market's old building a more convenient place for traders and customers, the building's facade has been covered with a photo print of the blueprint of the new market building and the selling area has seen some upgrades.  

"From the new year, we will focus on the preparation of the design of the new market building, but in the meantime we are improving the market's appearance to make the shopping experience as pleasant as possible," the manager, Rain Parna, said in a press release.

"We have renewed the parking area so that customers can park their cars for free while visiting the market. One the facade, we have displayed a large piece of fabric with the design of the new market building. We have combined the old and new entrances and we believe that this will help to better understand what the new market building will look like in the future," he said.

Besides, the heating system of the main building was renovated so that it would be as convenient as possible for traders to do their work during the winter.

Astri Grupp, operator of the popular Balti Jaam Market in Tallinn, bought the property of the Central Market in summer 2019. A competition for the architectural design of the new building of the Central Market was won by a work by KOKO Architects, according to which the new market building and offices would be built on the eastern side of the plot and apartment buildings on the western side.